The Reunion
by MoonyistheBestMarauder
Summary: When Teddy returns home after being gone for a year, James is more than excited. But will James push away his feelings for his best friend, or will he finally get his chance? SLASH TEDDYxJAMES SIRIUS
1. Chapter 1: James

**Prompt: Reunion**

**Pairing: Teddy/James II**

_**James' POV:**_

"James! We have guests!" I groaned from my bedroom, hearing my mother's voice ringing up the stairs. I hoisted myself out of my bed, throwing my Quidditch book down on the blanket. I walked down the stairs tiredly, putting on a fake smile as I saw my grandmother.

"Oh, James, you look like you've had two more growth spurts since last month." Grandma Weasley said, instantly messing my clothes and trying to get my hair to lay down flat (good luck with that). I smiled politely at her as she dusted me off carefully. "Honestly, when will you boys quit growing. I swear Teddy is a metre taller than he was when he left."

I reeled back suddenly. "Teddy? Teddy Lupin?" I said quickly, trying to act as casual as possible. Molly looked at me a bit oddly.

"Well, yes, of course, dear, how many other Teddy's do we know?" She asked, chuckling slightly.

"But…he's in Bulgaria!" I stammered.

"He got back yesterday, dear. Didn't you know that? He's on his way over to the house now." Grandma said, causing my heart to miss a beat. I stood there gob-smacked, letting her mess with me a bit more, until she finally spotted Albus, and ran after him.

Two years ago, my "cousin", Teddy Lupin had started working for the Ministry of Magic, more specifically, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Beast Division. He'd been working his arse off fighting for werewolf rights, for obvious reasons, and everyone in the family was extremely proud. Then, one year ago, even though he was only 24, he'd been asked by a werewolf supporter to travel through Europe for several conferences, rallies, lectures, and all sorts of things. After a lot of input from the relatives, he'd finally said yes. He'd been gone for a year, and even though he kept in touch through owl, it hadn't been the same. It's not like I wasn't proud of him- if anyone could make a difference in this world, it's Teddy- but, well, I missed him.

Despite the obvious age difference, he's my best friend. And I hope I'm his best friend too. That may sound incredibly selfish, but it's true. When he tells me he's going to go hang out with some other guys, or, Merlin forbid, a girl, I get strangely jealous. I'm sure that's normal.

And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm practically in love with the guy.

I mean, it doesn't mean anything that I've had a crush on him since fourth year. And yes, he may be the reason I even realized I'm gay, hell, he might be the reason I _am _gay, but, in all honesty, nothing's going to happen between us. Ever. He's Teddy, and I'm James… it just wouldn't work. It was just wrong. We're friends.

I tried to focus on these thoughts, and _not _the thought of how amazing we'd be together as I tried to get my act together and more relatives came in.

"Just friends, James." I muttered to myself. I leaned against the wall, and, despite my will, started to grin wildly. _Teddy's back, _I thought, trying not to be too excited. I turned my head and caught a glimpse of my reflection in the wall mirror. The grin instantly went away. _Shit, I look like hell._ My shirt was wrinkled carelessly, and my hair looked more unruly than usual. I had bags under my eyes that made it seem like I hadn't slept in a week. I really needed to start caring about my appearance more, even if it was during the summer.

I spun around and started climbing the stairs quickly, hoping to get changed before Teddy arrived, when I heard the front door open with a bang. Only one person opened our door like that. I froze immediately.

"Already trying to run away from me, James?" I gulped, recognizing that handsome voice right away. I planted a smile on my face and turned around.

Teddy Lupin stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, leaning against the counter with way more grace than a 25-year-old bloke should ever possess. His hair was light brown, a bit longer than I was used to, and his eyes bright amber. It was his dad's look, and I knew for a fact that he only looked this way around his family. In public, he usually chose to wear his hair bright turquoise, and have bright green eyes, ones that mirrored my dad's. I allowed myself a quick glance at the rest of his ensemble before returning my eyes to his face. He wore a pair of dark black jeans and black converse, with a white button-up shirt underneath a black leather jacket. He'd owned that jacket forever, even when it was too big for him. It had used to belong to Sirius Black, one of my namesakes. When Sirius had died, it had been placed in Remus Lupin's possession, and, from there, passed down to his son. As I looked at him, I realized that Grandma Weasley hadn't been lying- it did look like Teddy had grown a metre. From where I was standing, he looked like he could've been six and a half feet tall.

All in all, Teddy Lupin looked way too amazing for his own good. After a second, I realized that I didn't have to fake a smile anymore. A second after that, I realized that I was still staring at him like an idiot.

"Teddy!" I exclaimed happily, moving from my position on the stairs to meet him. I didn't hold back at all, just embracing him tightly, like I was five years old, not nineteen. I worried for a second that I was acting like a girl, but then he hugged back just as tightly, and I wasn't so worried anymore.

I pulled back, grinning like crazy, glad to see that he was grinning back. "Merlin, why didn't you tell me you were back?" I asked, punching him on the shoulder lightly.

Teddy laughed, making his eyes light up. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well it worked. Or it would have, if Gran hadn't let it slip a minute before you got here." I laughed, leaning against the counter. Teddy rolled his eyes.

"I knew it was a bad idea, letting that woman know." I opened my mouth to reply when someone entered the kitchen.

"I heard someone shout! Is everything okay?" Mum ran into the room frantically, looking around, when she spotted Teddy, and shouted herself. "Teddy!" She ran over and engulfed him in a hug. Even though she was ridiculously shorter than him, Teddy still looked a bit overwhelmed before laughing a pulling back.

Ginny pulled back and whacked him on the arm. "Teddy Remus Lupin, why didn't you warn me you were coming home?" Teddy laughed and rubbed his arm.

"You sound exactly like your son, you know that?" He asked, looking over at me and winking, which did _not _cause my breath to catch like a lovesick teenager, thank you very much.

Just then, the rest of the family burst in. There were loud exclamations of "TEDDY!", the loudest being Lily, who practically blasted everyone's eardrums when she jumped on him. After five minutes of chaos, we were ushered into the dining room, and my mom struggled to squeeze in another place setting for Teddy.

When we were all settled in (after several exclamations of "But _I _want to sit next to Teddy!"), the adults ran back into the kitchen to find the food. Teddy was seated at the head of the table, across from Dad. I sat to his right, and Lily to his left. Tonight, only Aunt Hermione's family was over, along with Grandma and Grandpa, so it wasn't nearly as crowded as it was with _all _the Weasleys over.

"So, Teddy," Mum said after we had all been served, "you have to tell us everything. How was it?"

"Oh, it was amazing." He said, taking a bite of the spaghetti. "I mean, I was working a lot of the time, but I still got to sight-see a bit."

"How did it go, then?" Dad cut in. "The work bit? I heard the Czech government gave you a bit of trouble."

Teddy sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we got kicked out of there by the second day. The wizarding population there is incredibly old-fashioned, and they are definitely not open to new ideas. Bulgaria was also pretty hard to get to, but I think we left it a fair bit better than it was."

Dad grinned at him. "How'd your lecture at Durmstrang go?"

Teddy smirked. "Well, the Professors weren't very pleased when they found out that the son of a werewolf was invited into their school. But I think the school visits went pretty good. I mean, they're a vital part of this whole rights campaign. If kids grow up thinking these prejudice thoughts about creatures, werewolves included, it's incredibly hard to change their minds. When you get to kids when they're still figuring everything out, you have a better chance at making a difference."

I watched Teddy with confusion. The way he talked about politics… it was almost scary how mature he seemed.

"I still can't believe you were in the Prophet!" Rose Weasley cut in happily. "That picture of you shaking the French Minster's hand was so hilarious! Hw looked like he was scared you were going to murder him!"

Teddy laughed. "Yes, well, at least we got them to consider the idea. I mean, werewolf marriage is still completely illegal there, which is strange, seeing as their prejudice there is very low. They were one of the first countries to allow muggle-borns into their school, and they're known for being one of the more modern wizarding societies across the world. They're all about moving forward, and yet they're still banning things like marriage rights? It's counterproductive."

Rose nodded eagerly and began to talk about the house-elf rights in Germany, and Teddy listened intently. Everyone seemed interested, except for Hugo, that is, who was more interested in his meal, and I swallowed. I'd never felt sillier in my whole life. Even Lily, who was four years younger than me, had some input in their conversation. Me? I didn't half the things they were saying. All this talk of statistics, and laws being passed, and the recent werewolf census….it went right over my head.

I glanced at Rose and Albus. They had just graduated from Hogwarts two months ago, and Rose already had an internship at the Ministry, and Albus was working on applications for the Daily Prophet. Lily had just finished her 5th year, acing every single one of her OWLS, except History of Magic, which, she claimed, didn't count. Teddy was practically famous by now, and then there's me. I still lived with my parents, and worked as a bartender at the Three Broomsticks. Mum and Dad knew I just hadn't caught my big break yet, and nobody in the family was disappointed in me, but now, surrounded by all the brilliant people, I felt smaller than ever.

Twenty minutes passed, and Teddy was now recounting his trip to Switzerland- something about illegal processes during full moons- and still I sat, twirling the spaghetti around on my fork, appetite long gone by now. He said something about the Prime Minister that made everyone laugh, except me. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Mum, may I be excused?" I blurted out hastily. All eyes turned to me, and I gulped. "It's just, I have plans." That was a lie. I hadn't spoken to any of my old school friends in over a year, and the only people I made plans with, other than my cousins, were coworkers, and they were all on vacation.

Mum set down her fork. "James, we have guests over." She said quietly, glancing around at the table. I could feel Teddy staring at me intently, but I didn't dare look at him.

"Last week you said it was okay." I said. Another lie. Mum glanced at Teddy.

"Well, Teddy just got back dear, maybe you should stay…" She faded off. I clenched my teeth.

"Fine. Well, I have to go owl my friends, because they're expecting me to come with them." I said, and without another word, I dropped my napkin on my chair and did my best not to storm from the room. As I walked up the stairs, I caught Teddy watching me from the corner of my eye, and I kept myself from meeting his gaze.


	2. Chapter 2: Teddy

_**Teddy's POV:**_

I watched James until he had vanished into his upstairs bedroom. I turned back to the table, surprised to see everyone's eyes on me. I tried my best not to look too upset for them. I'd been really excited to see James, probably a bit too excited, and now I was here… and he didn't even want to see me?

"It's not you, dear." Ginny said to me, as if reading my thoughts. "He's been this way for almost a year now."

"What way?" I asked, as if James' behavior hadn't been strange to me at all. I picked up my fork, trying to act as casual as I could, even though I wasn't the least bit hungry.

Ginny looked around at the others, and I noticed that everyone looked a bit uneasy. "Well, he's been a bit introverted, to say the least." She said, with a small shrug.

"Well, the boy's lonely!" Arthur Weasley cut in. "He needs to get out, travel, meet people_._"

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Molly started, and was met with a chorus of groans, which she promptly ignored. "He needs to meet _girls. _It's about time he got a girlfriend."

Albus rolled his eyes. "He doesn't _want _a girlfriend." He said surely, as if it were common sense. I watched the scene in confusion and interest.

"He'll kill you if you try to set him on a blind date again, Gran." Lily said, waving her fork around to make her point, which resulted in Hugo getting splattered with pasta and sauce.

"Lily!" Ginny reprimanded, as all the cousins laughed. Hugo simply licked the sauce off his lips happily as Aunt Hermione got up and tried to get him cleaned up. He pushed her away. "_Mum, _I'm fourteen, you do not need to _wipe my face with a napkin._" He emphasized as she tried to do exactly that.

After Hugo had gotten cleaned up, we returned to the conversation. "I still don't see why you all think he's so opposed to the idea of dating." Molly said, holding her chin up high.

"It's not the idea of dating, it's the idea of dating _girls-_" Hugo said, before Lily clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, Hugo!" Lily hissed. Ginny and Harry exchanged glances before looking back down at their food.

"Now that's just silly. James is not gay." Molly said. "And even if it was, why wouldn't he just tell us? That would make things much easier."

"Because then you would try to set him up with boys, dear, and I don't think he particularly wants that." Arthur said, patting her hand lightly. I watched them with wide eyes. James was…gay? _What?_ Anxiously, I grabbed my water and started sipping it nervously.

"It's not like there's anything wrong with being gay." Molly continued, and everyone else stared in a bored fashion, like they'd heard this a million times. "After all, Remus and S-"

"Molly!" Harry exclaimed, glancing towards me. I choked on my water and immediately started coughing, so Lily hit me on the back painfully. I looked at Molly, whose face was white, and her mouth was closed tightly.

"_What _about my dad?" I asked after I had relaxed. Everyone stayed silent. The adults looked around awkwardly, as the cousins looked on in confusion. At least I wasn't the only one in the dark here. "Harry?" I asked as I noticed that nobody was going to say anything.

"Well, your father… um, they grew up in the 60's, you know, and everyone was a bit rebellious back then, especially one of his friends…Sirius," he added as he saw my raised eyebrow, "and during their school years… and after graduation… and after Sirius escaped from Azkaban… they had a bit of a… thing." He finished.

I looked at him. "A thing." I repeated, shaking my head.

"Yeah, you know, a relationship?" He said awkwardly. I nodded slowly.

"So, what you're trying to say is that my dad was gay for Sirius Black." Ron let out a laugh that he instantly turned into a cough at his wife's hard stare.

"Not exactly how I'd put it, but, yes, I suppose." Harry said, shrugging his shoulders. I nodded again.

"And nobody ever told me because…?" I asked, looking around. Ginny sighed.

"Well, we didn't exactly know how to tell you. The Marauders' sexuality wasn't a topic that was brought up in conversation too often." She said with a slight smile.

"Right." I said, leaning back in my chair. "Well I can't say I'm too surprised. I mean, Sirius' jacket _was_ passed down to me… and their hair in those old pictures looked way to good for straight guys." I said, smirking slightly. Everyone visibly relaxed. "But I still feel like we've strayed from the subject here. Is James really gay?" I asked bluntly, taking a deep breath.

It was silent until Albus spoke up. "Look, it's not like we have any proof or anything, but… we think so. I mean, he's only gone out with one girl before, and that didn't end well, and then there's…" he faded off, looking away from me.

"Then there's what?" I prompted.

Lily looked at me and gave me a slight half-smile. "There's you." I paled a bit, and didn't ask anyone to explain. Honestly, they didn't have to. I knew what they were implying.

James had always been very close to me; I knew I'd been his idol growing up. Once he was a teenager, he'd become more protective, despite being five years younger, and even a bit… jealous? Every time I'd get home from a date, he wouldn't speak to me for a day. We'd all noticed how he acted around me, but I'd always thought it was because he didn't want anyone to replace him as my best friend. Nobody had, of course. It's not like anyone could. He'd always been special. He's…James.

"I'm going to go find James." I said, and as soon as I spoke, I knew it was the right thing to do. Ginny nodded and gave me a slight smile. Lily whispered a small "good luck", but I ignored it, and left the dining room quickly.


	3. Chapter 3: James

_**James' POV:**_

After shutting myself away in my bedroom, I sighed and collapsed into the swivel chair in front of my desk. I knew I was acting moody, stomping away from dinner like that, and, now that I thought about it, I regretted it. Teddy must think I'm completely sulky now.

This thought made me angry. Why should I care what Teddy thought of me? We're just friends. And that's assuming we're even friends at all. Why would Teddy, - successful Teddy, famous Teddy, _perfect_ Teddy- want to be friends with the likes of me? I wasn't successful, I wasn't famous, and I wasn't the least bit perfect. I may have been overreacting, but I couldn't bring myself to see reason.

There was a quiet knock at the door, and I heard it open slightly. I closed my eyes and turned to my desk, pretending to be busy.

"Go away, Mum. I need to owl my friends." I said. The door closed and I sighed in relief until someone spoke.

"You used to always be able to tell when it was me." I spun around in my chair and I saw Teddy standing in front of the door, arms crossed. My face hardened.

"I guess I'm out of practice." I said, raising my eyebrows. Teddy didn't reply as he moved and sat on my bed. I clenched my teeth; angry at the way he acted like he lived here. He'd been gone too long to act like that.

"I missed you, Jamie." He said, calling me an old nickname that he'd started calling me when I was seven. I suddenly decided that I despised that name.

"It's James. Nobody calls me that anymore." I said coldly, leaning back in my chair. Teddy looked at me, eyes a bit sad.

"Right." He said after a second. "I keep forgetting. You're nineteen now. Not a little boy anymore, huh?" He watched me carefully.

"That's right." I said defiantly. Teddy watched me and smiling slightly, making me absolutely furious

"You don't have to cancel your plans just because of me, you know. You can see me whenever." He said suddenly, and I was confused for a second until I remembered why I was supposedly up here in the first place.

"Well, I already sent the letter, so it's too late." I retorted. Teddy raised an eyebrow.

"What were the plans?" He asked in mild curiosity. I glanced around. I hadn't planned this out very well.

"Just… the movies. We were going to see a movie." I said, shrugging coolly. He nodded in interest.

"What movie?" He asked after a pause. I opened my mouth, and realized that I had no idea what films were even playing right now. I really needed to get out of the house more. I stayed silent as I racked my brain, and Teddy simply watched. After a minute, I gave up and closed my mouth.

Teddy nodded once more. "You know, you don't have to lie to get out of hanging out with me." He smiled as he said it, but his eyes looked a bit downtrodden.

"It's not that I don't want to hang out with you, Ted." I said quietly. Teddy looked at me, frowning.

"Then what is it?" He asked, and I realized that it was pointless, trying to lie to Teddy. He could read through anything, no matter how good the lie was.

I shook my head. "Everyone's so proud of you, Teddy. I am too. Who wouldn't be? You've managed to change the world more in one year than most people can in their entire life. It's incredible, really. You're incredible." I said honestly, looking at him. He flushed slightly, and looked down, but I continued. "Honestly, you're a bit too incredible. I just… I can't keep up with you anymore." He looked up at me, eyes narrowed in true confusion.

"I'm a waiter in the Three Broomsticks that still lives with his parents. I don't know the first thing about government, or werewolf rights, or statistics, or any of that. I mean, you fit in with everyone now. You can talk to Rose about politics, or Lily about Quidditch, or Albus about writing. It's not like it's a bad thing. I'm really happy for you, I really am… but I really missed you, and now I feel like my best friend doesn't even exist anymore. You've become this brilliant person, not that you weren't always brilliant, and I'm just… not."

I didn't dare look at Teddy as I finished my rant. Merlin, he must think I'm so pathetic now. A true, true loser.

"Who ever said you weren't brilliant?" I heard him say after a moment, and I looked up. He was leaning back on his hands, looking at me with a small, but genuine, smile.

"Teddy, believe it or not, I'm not saying these things to get pity, okay, so please just don't-"

"You're the most brilliant person I've ever met." He interjected, making me stop talking immediately. He was grinning at me, eyes bright and… affectionate?

I sighed, shaking the thought from my mind. Now was not the time to fall for him _again. _ "Well, thanks for that, Teddy, but I don't exactly want the whole 'you're special' conversation right now."

"But you are. I know you don't believe it, but you have always been special. Always." _But not the way I want to be, _I thought bitterly. I pursed my lips together. Why couldn't he just get the message? This hurt just a bit too much to hear.

"I just wanted to tell you the truth, Lupin. Please leave me alone now." I tried to be cold, but the end came out a bit pleadingly.

"And I want to tell you the truth back." He said, eyes hardening. "I've met a lot of amazing people this past year. I've done a lot of amazing things, seen a lot of amazing sights. And do you know what I thought about every time I did something like that?" He asked me, raising an eyebrow. I shook my head, even though I knew where this was going.

"You. 'Would James like this guy?' 'Would James be proud of this?'" He paused. "No matter what happened, I couldn't stop wishing that you were there too. More than once I found myself wishing that I was back home."

I watched him, breathing a bit quickly. He looked so sincere…it broke my heart. It was quiet for a long time, the two of us just watching one another.

"Me too." I whispered, and he looked at me in confusion. "I wished you were here too." I said, looking at him honestly. It became silent once more. Usually a silence like this would be awkward, but with Teddy…it just wasn't.

I looked at him, really looked at him, and I every reason why I loved him just rushed back to me. As I watched him, I found that he was watching me just as intently.

"I love you." I whispered, just as I heard him say, "You're perfect."

In a second, we were both standing, meeting each other in the middle. Before I knew what was happening, our lips were crashed together, limbs entwined, kissing like there was no tomorrow.

I don't know what I was thinking when I convinced myself this would be wrong. Nothing had ever felt more right in my entire life.

Our lips melded together, and I felt his tongue at my lips. I didn't resist for a second, opening mouth so he could explore to his heart's content. My head was spinning, and I wasn't thinking, and it was _perfect._

After a minute, we pulled away, both gasping for breath and grinning like fools. He leaned his forehead against mine, so I could feel his hot breath on my lips.

"Everyone down there reckons you fancy me." He said quietly with a smirk. I grinned back, wrapping my arms around him.

"I have no idea where they'd get such a crazy idea." I said, kissing him quickly.

Teddy smirked and pulled me closer. "Me neither, Jamie."


End file.
